A man serving a life sentence for a rape and murder in 1994 in South Portland says he deserves a retrial because a new analysis shows that a sock that was used to gag the victim did not have his DNA on it.

An attorney for Foster Bates told the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday that the DNA of three other men was found on the sock. He said that raises reasonable doubt about Bates’ guilt in the death of his neighbor Tammy Dickson.

But prosecutors say they have much more significant evidence, including the fact that Bates’ DNA was found inside Dickson.

Bates’ attorney says the two had a consensual sexual relationship but Bates did not kill the woman.

Dickson, 22, was found bound and gagged in her apartment at Cortland Court on Feb. 20, 1994. Her 2-year-old son, Marcus, apparently had been in his crib during the killing and remained there for three days.

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